AT&T announced today that it's putting an end to its traditional mobile plans for new subscribers on the network, and that all new customers will be funneled in to the company's Mobile Share options starting October 25th. While Verizon made its shared plans mandatory for new subscribers right from the get go last summer, AT&T's Mobile Share plans - launched last August - have remained optional for those making the move to Ma Bell. Many speculated that this flexibility would eventually come to an end, though, as after all - people could be saving money by using the old plans (I know I do!).

The Mobile Share plans offer pricing tiers for data at 300MB, 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 6GB, 10GB, 15GB, 20GB, and 30GB. Unlike Verizon, the pricing per device on the plan actually varies by how much data you elect to purchase (it goes down as your data goes up), which might actually save multi-line subscribers money, especially if they're on an existing tiered data plan.

Individual subscribers, though, should probably hold onto their old plans for dear life, as the 2GB Mobile Share plan comes out to $95 a month for a single smartphone user. Ouch (though admittedly $5 less than a comparable Verizon plan). Bring it up to 4GB and you're looking at $110. The plans do include unlimited calls and texting, though it's not like most people use the former all that much anymore, and the latter shouldn't cost anything to begin with.

AT&T does take a jab at Verizon when it comes to handset upgrades in its statement on the change, promising that existing customers will not be forced to switch plans when upgrading their devices.

Comments

jake044

If T-Mobile had better coverage, it could easily be the #1 carrier.

earth

When Sprint turns on 800Mhz LTE, Tmobile will be the only carrier w/out a lower band. Will be harder for Tmob to expand coverage in rural areas w/out a lower band. I'd say Sprint has the leg up but they have to complete their LTE rollout and turn on 800Mhz before becoming a solid nationwide player.

T-Mobile uses AWS LTE. That means 1700 MHz for upstream data and 2100 MHz for downstream data (or vice versa, I forgot). The advantage of that is twice the bandwidth, less network congestion (which Sprint is currently suffering from), and overall better speeds. That's also why Verizon is supplementing their 750 MHz network with AWS (their Galaxy S4 and later do AWS LTE).

earth

Sprint will have 800 for coverage, 1900 now and massive spectrum with 2500. Sprint has much more spectrum than Tmbo has as well as a lower band for penetration/coverage. They are turning on 800 to expand coverage latley and 2500 for more capacity - triband phones are coming next month that will use all three.

Tmobile is OK on capacity but with no lower band, will be harder to fix coverage issues. Tmobile has done a better job getting LTE out faster but Sprint is catching up and has passed Tmob, and will expand more when 800 LTE is turned on. I get up to 30Mbps on Sprint LTE, no phone app needs more than a few Mbps.

patt

I will never ever signup with sprint.
If I am really forced to leave VZW it's T-Mobile or nothing.
So far happy with VZW.

earth

Check again when Sprint has 800 turned on and Tmob has no lower band to improve coverage. Is a different company now with Softbank owning them and 800 to compete with ATT/VZW. Tmob doesn't have that.

gsm1900

Dont forget the upcoming 600mhz spectrum auction. Most people think TMO will make a big play for it. It would really change this picture fast.

Dont forget too.. AWS was built for high speed data networks. The separate frequency bands are made to reduce interference.

earth

By the time 600Mhz is (if) actually available, Sprint and Tmob will probably be merged. It may be many years. For the next several years, Tmob will not have a lower band to compete with the big 3 on coverage.

s44

So you're a Sprint fudder. Lovely.

600mhz auction is next year.

earth

Worked Sprint years ago but ATT for many years. 600 auction 'might' happen next year but could be years before all in place to deploy.

droid_diord

yes, if t-mo only has better coverage and in building penetration, that would be great. but, here in san francisco, t-mo is slow and has in-building penetration issues.

Chris

Don't be surprised if they become the #1 carrier. The fact they are trying to cover our asses globally shows me that this company is looking more towards the future rather than the now. I'm currently on Verizon and love the coverage, but this company is trying too hard to have control over the consumer and charge outrageous prices. I would not mine investing into T-Mobile.

T-Mobile movement?

LockesKidney

all is i know is that i recently drove up the east coast on I-95 a MAJOR NATIONAL HIGHWAY! and tmobile would drop to edge or i would have no signal what so ever. that is a joke

Chris

Yeah I live in FL and live by the 75. Yeah LTE is nonexistent here but apparently there is talk of big roll outs coming to our area...

Krzysztof Jozwik

all is i know is that is terrible grammar.

earth

Sprint unlimited is starting to pay off for those in LTE areas. We have 3 phones on family plan using about 20-25GB per month, <$200 total for 3 phones. ATT is $290 if I read right for 20GB shared and would be over $400 for 25GB. And you can use 100GB on Sprint if you want.

Sprint still has a ways to go to complete LTE but will in good shape when finished, especially when they turn on 800 LTE.

Tapewormlatvia

95$ month for 2gb? Wtf? Get your prices right, America.
I pay $7.72 a month for 2Gb of data, plus ~ 10$ for calls and messages. And 2gb is enough for me, because I use it only on the streets. When I'm home, I use my 250Mbit/s UP&DOWN unlimited fiber optics which comes at $29.69. So in total, I pay less than 40$ a month for ALL THE INTERNETZ.

RXG9

wow, that's awesome. Where are you from? also how many minutes and messages do you get for $10?

basteagow

He's from Latvia.

Tapewormlatvia

Yes, just like basteagow said. I'm from Latvia.
Well, calling or sending messages to anyone who's on the same network as I am is for free and the calls and messages are unlimited. Calling anyone else (except those premium numbers, of course) is $0.1 per minute and the same $0.1 per message. And since only my mom and my girlfriend's parents are on different networks, most of my calls and messages are for free.

Thats in US currency? or your countries currency? because numbers can be meaningless if the currency has a high exchange rate or a low one.

Tapewormlatvia

Yes. I converted everything to US currency. That's exactly what you would pull out of your wallet if you would come here.

Tapewormlatvia

But, the sad side of this "We have it cheaper here" story is that all tech here costs almost half as much.
A couple of examples:
2013 Nexus 7 (32Gb): Amazon $269 (plus ~$70 for shipping to Latvia). The BEST deal I could find in our own shops is $499.61 for the same 32gb Nexus 7.
Galaxy S4: Amazon: $597. Here, the best deal is: $1041.67

patt

US is huge I am originally from Poland now live in NYC. I will be going there in december and will be buying prepaid sim that comes with 12GB of HSPA+ or LTE data but my S4 Verizon won't support LTE bands on their network , for 40PLN that is like 16$? maybe little more.

And for example the iPhone 5S 599+tax in Poland on site similar to eBay it's twice as much for the 5S.

Wayne Peterkin

You dont think they save in the long run?

SorinDobrin

Question: how much money you make per month? What's the average salary in Latvia? That's how this should be discussed...I have family in Europe and yes the cable and internet it is only $25, but when you only make $500 the math is different.

Tapewormlatvia

Yes, I know the math is different when you consider the salaries here. The average monthly salary, after tax, is $906. As a student, I'm a bit below the average. So yes, internet prices may be adequate, not cheap.
But then think about the tech prices which I mentioned. Galaxy S4 - $1041, which is more than the average monthly salary. Yet I see a person with a GS4 on every corner.

Sounds like its grandfathered. New plans will now require shared data and no more unlimited.

SorinDobrin

PREPAID is my middle name!

blumpkinator

Exactly. The $60/mo gophone plan is 2GB LTE data, unlimited text and calls. For bonus points, refills can be found on ebay for $50 or less frequently.

I have no idea why anyone would do postpay at this point for anything other than an aircard (no good prepaid data only options on ATT :( )

http://robert.aitchison.org raitchison

The problem is most of the pre-paid carriers (worth considering) are running on either Sprint or T-Mobile.

DarkJohn

I pay about 28$ (well now its 14$ for six months I got like a bonus or something) for unlimited calls, texts and data. up to 3gb. if I maxed the data cap I can still consume data but I get a slower connection. no extra cost.
that is the average here in Israel. also, it includes international calls. (us & canada to landlines+ellphones. other 50~ countries to landlines alone. sellphones at reasonable prices)
and to answer SorinDobrin. the minimum income a month (full time job) is around 1,200$.

Stiggy

Uhh I don't get the jab at vzw. You don't have to switch your plan when you upgrade... You just can't change around the old plans. Like if you have 700 min you can't go to 1400 etc. it's a circle jerk anyway US plans suck and we have to stick with carriers because of coverage.

Bryan Pizzuti

This is just a funky way of increasing prices.

duse

Straight Talk: same network, LTE, 2.5 GB data, $45/month.

http://www.LOVEanon.org/ Michael Oghia (Ogie)

AT&T Death Star FTW!

someone important

Why are we tolerating this constant data strangling and consolidation of power in this industry? Why are people not raising hell about all of this? It seems complacency is the new American way...

HolyFreakingCrap

Verizon and At&t are evil carriers. The people who keep using their services and paying them are also helping to stifle innovation and advancement in mobile services. They are not d-bag companies cause they can be, they are d-bag companies cause we allow it.

http://j.mp/scottbeamer Scott Beamer

The problem is. they have by far the best coverage.

Sebastian Nuñez Del Prado

F at&t. Glad I switched to consumer cellular. Still use my same Samsung galaxy s2 skyrocket with 4g speedss and at&t's coverage. CC will be rolling out LTE soon. Since Im situated in Los Angeles it's a matter of time. And I pay half of what I paid on at&t. Having a contract is so 2006.

http://www.twitter.com/ninjustin ninjustin

AT&T and Verizon are no longer viable for single subscribers. If you are using them by your self you are getting ripped off period.